Swim England schools research 2015

3 July 2015

To ensure we help every child have the opportunity to participate in high quality school swimming, we asked schools to tell us about their swimming provision during the academic year 2013-2014. 1,303 schools responded and shared their experiences.

Aim of the research

The aim of the research was to understand the challenges that primary schools face in the delivery of swimming and water safety sessions, and whether this has changed from previous research.

Key findings

48 per cent of seven to 11-year-olds can not swim the minimum of 25 metres (compared to 45 per cent in 2014).

The average number of swimming lessons provided to pupils is 17.

The average length of time a class is in the pool is 34 minutes.

The total duration spent in the water for the academic year was 9 hours 41 minutes.

Additional findings

Of the schools who responded, 98.7 per cent delivered curriculum swimming or swimming as an extra-curricular activity.

82 per cent of curriculum swimming lessons are led by an external swimming teacher, either with or without the assistance of a school teacher (down from 95 per cent in 2014).

67 per cent of schools communicate with parents regarding pupil’s swimming ability and 17 per cent communicate with secondary schools.

The average cost per pupil for swimming per year is £9.16 (down from £10.41 in 2014).